Simply put the enemy they faced had brought far more to this dance than they had. Razah Pha looked down at the central display of the battle, if it could be called that. It was more of a massacre; that was the best way to describe it. He was at a loss for words of how to describe the scene that had unfolded in front of him over the past few minutes. The attack had come with no warning and the devastation that had happened after that had been sheer lunacy. There were too many enemy vessels for his forces to even begin to fight back against. Whoever this enemy was, they had opted for a campaign of shock and awe and they were executing it exceptionally well.

He watched as one of his two Nebulon-B2 Frigates exploded, the sheer brunt of the attack too much for the hull of the vessel to withstand. There was a brilliant display of fire and light and then the ship snapped into two pieces. The green holograph fizzled for a moment, before displaying the two pieces, along with minor pieces of what could only now be termed as debris, floating in space. The gaze of the commander would have turned to his other Nebulon-B2, but it had been taken out of the fight almost immediately into this charade of a battle.

He turned to his communications officer.

"Have we been able to break the jamming?" He asked, and the communications officer nodded.

“Yes, sir, but they’ll be able to trace it and track it.”

Razah shook his head, cursing the decision that he had to make. There was no avoiding it. If their foes had managed to get the coordinates for this location, he had to operate under the belief that they had more actionable intel. At the same time, it went against his core to create scenarios where the enemy could get more intel.

But it had to be done, no matter his thoughts or feelings on the matter. The others had to be warned. They had to.

"Get a message to Lukros. Hellfyre Alpha's position has been overrun. We don't anticipate being able to hold out much longer." He said. Razah's eyes took in a report scrolling across one of the displays that his ship's shield integrity had dropped below ten percent. "Make sure the message gets out." He added, before turning back towards the battle.

That's right. This wasn't a battle, he reminded himself.

It was slaughter.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Ulver Estrel read the report one more time. As if it hadn't sunk in, in his brain, and he needed to remind himself that his second in command, Razah Pha was dead. The report was there, words burned into plastic flimsi and he closed his eyes, thinking to himself of the times that he and Razah had shared around the galaxy, going on various missions for the Hellfyre Organization. When his eyes opened, he looked into the melancholy orbs of Kelsi Azren, the Hellfyre Alpha member who had brought him the message. Often considered the heart and soul of the team, the look on her face told him more than the message ever could have.

His fist tightened on the piece of plastic, crushing it, as he turned to his second in command on the ground. Katra Kos was one of the most talented Force users in the entire Hellfyre organization. Known for being brash and headstrong, he could already see the anger on her face and knew that she would want some kind of revenge for what had happened. While the Hellfyre organization often times straddled the fence between the traditional definitions of the light side and the dark side of the Force, Ulver ran a tight ship.

Which meant that Katra already knew what he was going to say.

“I need to speak to the Watchers.” He said.

She grimaced and shook her head.

“What would you have me do, Katra?” He asked. “Razah’s message was vague. We have no idea what’s going on and who attacked the Alpha base. We need guidance before we run off and make the situation worse.” He said.

She was silent and he started walking, through the main temple on Lukros. The Hellfyre organization had existed throughout the course of galactic history, working behind the scenes to accomplish its goals. The goal was simple, the eradication of all those who would practice the dark side of the Force. Obviously, it was a quest that would never truly be accomplished, but that didn’t mean the objective was not something to strive for. They had been hunted by inquisitors during Palpatine’s reign, but ultimately they had managed to survive because Palpatine’s attention had been diverted by the upstart Rebellion, and the Jedi Skywalker.

Hellfyre Alpha was the premier squad within the organization, and Ulver was the leader. He led a team of nine Force-users, with varying levels of progression within their journey to master the Force. They had destroyed the Order of the Night, one of their most important victories in the quest against utilizers of the Dark Side.

But apparently they had a new foe to fight, one that had destroyed the base in the Unknown regions that Hellfyre Alpha used, along with the small strike force that he had. Had the members of Hellfyre Alpha been at the base, instead of at a conference, a meeting on Lukros, who knows whether they would all be alive?

The Watchers would know what to do. They had never steered Hellfyre wrong in the past.

Ulver could feel the tension. There were representatives from all the different Hellfyre subdivisions, and almost all of them had their eyes on him. By now, most people had heard of the attack and were trying to figure out what to do. Most were just as baffled of it as Ulver. His eyes found the Watcher who oversaw Hellfyre Alpha, and he changed his path, heading straight towards the Watcher. Katra followed behind him, respectively a few steps behind, but clearly with more aggression in her step. Ulver came to a stop in front of his Watcher.

"What are we going to do?" He asked.

"We don't know who the attackers were." The Watcher said.

"The Empire?" Katra asked, but the Watcher shook his head.

"The Empire doesn't venture this far into the Unknown Regions. We're very close to the Jade Empire for a reason." He said. "We did receive a tight beam communication, from Razah, before all contact was lost. There was cursory information about the ships that conducted the attack, but from what we can tell, the vessels were not of Imperial make or origin. As far as we know." He said. "The likelihood of this being someone else is far greater."

"Maybe the Darksider who struck at Ossus?" Ulver asked.

"That is a possibility." The Watcher replied. "I'm going into an emergency meeting right now, Ulver. Once I have more information, you will be the first to know, I promise." He said and then he paused. "Razah Pha was a good friend. His service to Hellfyre will be remembered." He added, reaching out and squeezing Ulver's shoulder. "Whoever did this, we will bring them to justice. Wholesale slaughter, it has to be the work of a Darksider."

With that the Watcher turned and started to walk towards a door, one that Ulver knew led to the Watcher Council's chambers. He had only been there once, when trust had been placed in him to lead Hellfyre Alpha. Faith in him that he had let down. He turned back to Katra, and saw the look on Kelsi's face. "Reach out to the rest of the team." He said, to Kelsi. "Make sure that everyone is together. We need to ensure team integrity." He said and Kelsi turned, leaving the room.

"Now we wait?" Katra asked, folding her arms over her chest.

"Now we wait." Ulver replied.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

In orbit of Lukros, the Hellfyre Defense Fleet permanently resided, standing vigil over the system and keeping the Council of Watchers safe. The fleet, modest in size, contained the pride and joy the small military the Hellfyre organization fielded, an Imperial-class Star Destroyer Mark II, that had been purchased from the New Republic through proxy. Its weapons loadout had been reduced, by Hellfyre had brought it back up to standard through cannabilizing of other ships that they had seized or captured throughout the years. The ship, aptly named the Hellfyre led a small flotilla, comprised of two Victory-class Star Destroyers, and five CR90 Corellian Corvettes.

The man in charge of the fleet was in his quarters, looking over the communique that held the information from Razah's tight beam communication, when warning klaxons started to go off. Pushing his chair back, he grabbed his coat as he made his way out of his quarters and towards the bridge of the ship. The soldiers that he wasn't able to avoid got out of his way, knowing that nothing could bar the commandr from reaching the bridge of the vessel. This was definitely not a drill, and everyone had to be working at their maximum level of efficiency.

It wasn't often that a meeting of the Watchers was ever interrupted, but then again, it wasn't often that a fleet of ships had ever threatened the sanctity of the Hellfyre's home world of Lukros.

The expansive and ornate wooden doors to the chambers were opened, and Ulver led the swath of people who entered the chambers. There was a silence that had fallen upon the chamber as the doors opened, the various Watchers regarding this disturbance with a sense of curiosity. The silence continued as the Hellfyre Alpha Watched rose from his spot at the table.

"What is the meaning of this?" He asked.

"That fleet has come to Lukros." Ulver said, and then his brow furrowed. "Don't you all sense it?" He asked, wondering why they would even need him to tell them this, considering how strong many of them were in the Force. He pointed up above him, towards the ceiling. "We have to do something. The fleet is going to be overrun. We received a message from Lazrun. He doesnt' know how long he can hold out." Ulver said.

His Watcher turned to his brethren. "We must activate the planetary shield generator. I don't know if it can withstand a bombardment such as the one that may come down upon us, but we must have some protection." He said.

There was a series of nods around the table, an almost universal agreement.

He turned to Ulver. "Prepare your team. Alert all members across the planet, to converge upon the citadel. If there is going to be a fight, we will be ready and waiting for them."

Ulver nodded. Finally they were going to fight back. He turned and looked for Katra, who's face had broken out into a smile. All the higher members of Hellfyre strode the line between the Dark side and the Light side. But very few danced on that line like a ballerina performing a solo dance the way that Katra Kos did. But he couldn't worry about that, not at the moment, even if it could turn into something more pressing down the road. There was work to be done, and he wasn't the leader of Hellfyre Alpha for no reason.

He tapped out a message on his wrist communicator to Kelsi, to have her bring the other members of his team to him. They had a fight to prepare for.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

"So we know nothing about who is attacking us?" Drame Fenteni asked, as she paced the hangar.

There was a flurry of activity all around them. Hellfyre maintained an assortment of fighters in ground hangars on Lukros and pilots were moving through the hangars, scrambling the fighters to try to make a difference. Many knew that they were going to their death. The armada that was bearing down upon them had already oblitered Hellfyre's lone Imperial-class Star Destroyer, and was now pounding away at the planetary shield. But to sit and do nothing was not an option.

"No, we don't." Sanuil said, twirling one of his tonfa-style lightsabers around his hand. It was a fluid motion, and his eyes were fixated on what he was doing. "But I do know that the shield isn't going to hold for much longer." He said as he stopped twirling the tonfa. His eyes lurched upwards, meeting Ulver's own. "I'm more concerned about a ground battle." He said.

Olenia took this moment to laugh. "Is not the better option to run and fight another day?" She asked, and when Yulse looked at her, confused, Rez went ont o explain. "Hellfyre has survived over the years by knowing when to pick and choose its battles. This is not a battle that we can win. Surely, we should be attempting to preserve the organization in some capacity and rebuild?" She asked, looking at the others.

"It's a possibility." Kelsi said.

"I don't think anyone wakes up thinking that today is the day they die, but we can't control our fates." Sanuil said.

"This might not be the best time for a philosophical argument." Yulse replied as she looked down at a screen that was giving her real time updates on what was happening above. "The shield just came down."

He wanted to shield his eyes from the glare, but he knew that if he did that, he'd be dead. Ulver's green lightsaber was locked in traction against the red blade of one of the attackers. While they still didn't know who these people were, there had been a complete confirmation of one thing: They were darksiders. All the defenses had been overrun, the numbers game simply too much for the Hellfyre forces to muster some kind of fight against. Almost all the fighting was localized at the citadel. The Watchers, already in their meeting, had opted to bring everyone together in one place, thinking that there was strength in numbers.

Generally, that was a sound strategy, unless your opponent had far larger numbers and far better firepower. In this situation, there was only weakness in numbers, because it gave too many targets for their enemies to shoot, stab, and ultimately kill. Ulver was forced to take a step backwards, and he almost tripped over the slain body of Mikon Horcl'os. The Balmorran woman lay on the ground, dead, her eyes staring straight upwards. The slash mark across her chest was deep, and while the flesh had been cauterized, there were still embers smoldering from her clothing. He could spare little time to think about her, unless he wanted to join her in death.

He slid his lightsaber down, forcing a grating noise, as he came dangerously close to the hilt of his foe's blade. The man was forced to break the lock and Ulver used that as the opening he needed to cause a wave of Force energy to slam into his opponent, tossing him backwards, and away from him. It gave him some moments to look at the rest of the field of battle that he found himself on.

They were still in the hangar, engaging what seemed like an insurmountable avalanche of battle droids, of a design that he had never seen before. The room's number of Hellfyre members was slowly dwindling, and the battle droids were augmented by what seemed like a tide of crimson lightsabers. He didn't know where they had all come from.

This was more Darksiders than he had ever seen in his life.

He turned, looking for Katra. He knew that he needed his second in command. The woman was pulling her lightsaber back, the green blade having slid into the stomach of one of her foes. She caught the man's lightsaber as he dropped it and threw it, accelerating it telekinetically and stabbing another darksider in the back, as he tried to swing downwards on Sanuil. There was almost the hint of a smile on her face.

At least someone was enjoying all of this.

His commlink buzzed, and he fumbled with it for a second, before putting the earbud in and answering the call.

"Ulver, we need a status report." The Watcher of Hellfyre Alpha said.

"We're being overrun. Are there any reinforcements that-"

"No. You're Hellfyre Alpha for a reason. You're supposed to be the best that this organization has to offer." The Watcher replied.

Ulver looked down at Kelsi Azren, whose body was crumpled and twisted, from the way she had fallen after she had been dropped from the ceiling. The burn marks from the Force Lightning were getting worse, though at this point the cells on the inside of her body were rapidly dying faster than the skin on the outside.

"If that's the case, then we were never as good as we thought we were." Ulver replied. "We're going to die down here if we don't get help."

"We all perish one day, Ulver, you know your lessons. It's what you do while you're alive that counts."

Ulver didn't waste his breath with a reply. He tore the earbud out and threw it to the ground. He saw Katra looking at him. "We're on our own." He said, as a large shuttle became visible in the distance, coming towards the hangar. From the looks of it, and the escort of starfighters it had, it seemed important.